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A Baker’s Dozen of Summer Learning Activities

The recipe for a perfect summer includes a myriad of activities for you and your kids to enjoy together, whether at home, on the beach, at a campsite, another country, or grandma’s house. FableVision compiled a list of top notch ingredients, including games, interactives, videos, and more for kids of all ages. Check out our recommendations and start cooking up a fun and educational summer.

Young Learners, Ages 0-5

My S.T.E.M. Adventure

My S.T.E.M. Adventure

With the help of Leila Diaz, take your children on an adventure through 10 place-based activities in My S.T.E.M. Adventure, created with Bridge Multimedia and STEMIE. The born-accessible app promotes STEM learning skills for 0-5-year-olds with disabilities as players engage with science around them, emphasizing that science and learning can happen anywhere. Players are prompted to take photos and write descriptions of items, which get compiled at the end for a customizable storybook.

Learn with Sesame Street

“It feels so good to be kind!” Learn with Sesame Street, an educational app created by Sesame Workshop and HOMER Learning, helps 2-4-year-olds build social emotional (SEL) skills with the help of Sesame Street’s beloved muppets. As kids play through the app that helps them navigate big feelings and everyday challenges, check out the FableVision-created animated music videos written by VP of Moonladder Tone Thyne, each focusing on a specific SEL content area.

Sago Mini Friends

“Leaf pools, mustache finders, thankful trees, and singing a lullaby to a loaf of bread are entirely commonplace in Sagoville,” says Tone, showrunner and one of the executive producers of Sago Mini Friends. Read his interviews in Animation World Network and Animation Magazine to learn more about the adorable show for 3-4-year-olds focused on gratitude, and watch the series on AppleTV+.

PBS Parent Activity Videos

For a rainy day, dust off that old box of craft supplies in your attic and check out PBS KIDS’ series of “Find Ways to Play'' educational videos, including 20 live-action videos created by FableVision. The activities, ranging from crafts to games to printables, inspire and guide parents and caretakers through fun, hands-on family activities that are aligned to their favorite PBS KIDS series.

Children Ages 6-12

Cyber Fashion Challenge

Don’t throw out outgrown clothes this summer; instead, upcycle them. Using favorite characters from Cyberchase, born-accessible Cyber Fashion Challenge, created with The WNET Group, PBS KIDS, and Bridge Multimedia, teaches 6-8-year-olds about avoiding fast fashion and encouraging the creative reuse of materials. Players design new pieces by reusing materials, while learning counting, shape identification, and shape characteristics.

When Things Aren’t Going Right, Go Left

If you or your kids ever had frustrations, doubts, fears, or worries, check out When Things Aren’t Going Right, Go Left, written by Marc Colagiovanni, illustrated by FableVision founder and New York Times bestselling author/illustrator Peter H. Reynolds, and published by Scholastic. In their second collaboration, Peter and Marc created an inspirational and optimistic story about overcoming adversity and pursuing dreams. Watch the FableVision-created trailer to learn more and read the book.

Roasting Vegetables

How do you ensure that your kids eat their veggies? By bringing those funny vegetables to life, of course! Created with audiyo-yo and Pinna, Roasting Vegetables is a rollicking, silly, pun-filled trip into the crisper drawer to see what happens when two vegetables meet in an epic battle of wits and words. The podcast for 8-10-year-olds brings together original beets, a ton of puns, and a cast of characters that are as nutritious as they are delicious.

Pinna Original Yes No Audio Escape Series

Speaking of podcasts, check out audiyo-yo’s other collaboration with Pinna – the Pinna Original Yes No Audio Escape Series. Your 7-12-year-old kids are stuck in a spooky haunted house, the creaky cabin of a ship, or a magical marshmallow dream forest, with five minutes to escape. They can respond yes or no to activate their own audio adventure and change the course of the story. Start your 7-day-free trial. 

Tweens, Teens, and Young Adults

“Digital Connections” Video Series

Created by Common Sense Media in collaboration with AT&T and Public Library Association, “Digital Connections” is a free online video series for tweens and families to learn the competencies of good digital citizenship and how to use technology safely and responsibly. FableVision is proud to have worked with Common Sense Media to help bring this project to life. Watch “Digital Connections” today to help young people connect with balance, kindness, vigilance, and purpose.

Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman Documentaries Website and Interactives

Encourage your 6-10th graders to journey through the history and impact of social change. Maryland Public Television (MPT) and FableVision created a website and two interactives highlighting the PBS documentaries Harriet Tubman: Visions of Freedom and Becoming Frederick Douglass. Check out the multimedia timeline with more than 70 landmark moments in American history, complete the narrated self-assessment “Map Your Role for Social Change,” and watch the documentaries.

Forest Quest

For older teens thinking about their careers, Forest Quest, created with Project Learning Tree Canada (PLT), provides an engaging and educational online experience about green jobs, sustainable forest management, and wildlife biology. Hear from foresters, wildlife experts, biologists, and Indigenous peoples to discover the secrets of forests.

Start It Up!

In lieu of a forestry career, maybe entrepreneurship is your teen’s calling. Start It Up!, an online business simulator created in partnership with GPB Education and Georgia Council on Economic Education (GCEE), teaches high school students and young adults the ins and outs of creating a business, while adding mentorship, customization, humor, and vibrant design to the experience.

That Bonus Activity

Yusuf/Cat Stevens’ “King of a Land”

After a long day, relax by listening and singing along to Cat Stevens’ new album, “King of a Land.” FableVision created animated lyric videos for two songs (stay tuned for one more) – “Take the World Apart” and “King of a Land” – featuring artwork by Peter H. Reynolds, who brings the message of finding inner peace to life. Is your entire family ready to sing?

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November FableFriday: Anne Richards, Vice President, audiyo-yo

As a natural storyteller eager to connect with children in different media, Anne Richards, VP of FableVision’s audio division audiyo-yo, has done it all – television, publishing, games, edtech, and more. Once she found her calling in audio, she knew that she wanted to keep exploring this intimate format that lets listeners paint their own picture of the characters and story as they process what they hear.

“Even though audio is a classic form of storytelling going all the way back to radio plays, there’s so much work happening in this space right now,” says Anne. “There’s a lot of room for innovation and emerging voices to make an impact.”

And innovating is exactly what Anne is doing. This summer, audiyo-yo released its first project – the interactive, voice-activated Pinna Original Yes No Audio Escape series (check out the October/November Kidscreen print issue) – where listeners co-create the story by answering “yes” or “no” to questions presented to them. This fall, audiyo-yo delights listeners with Pinna Original Roasting Vegetables, a short-form audio series full of silly vegetable puns, original beats (or should we say beets?), and nutritious, delicious characters. 

Anne is your comprehensive guide to podcast knowledge. Keep reading to learn more about the future of podcasts, audiyo-yo’s upcoming projects, and Anne’s advice for aspiring kids’ podcast creators. 

Anne and Kermit

What’s your “journey to FableVision” story?
I feel like I’ve been journeying to FableVision for a long time! I first met Gary Goldberger about 15 years ago through kids’ industry conferences. A few years later, I hired FableVision to create learning games for a non-profit I was working with and had a great experience with the team. Fast forward another few years and I started working for FableVision as a freelance game designer and producer. I’ve been in the orbit for a long time one way or another, so when Gary and I hatched the idea to bring an audio division to the studio, it felt like a really natural progression. I’ve always been a fan of FableVision’s work and the amazing and talented team, so officially being a FableVisionary at long last feels like a homecoming. 

Anne’s nephews meeting Bear

You’ve been a writer, producer, game designer, and more! How did you end up focusing on podcasts?
My work in audio came out of my experience in other kids’ media. I’ve worked in almost every form of children’s entertainment, starting in television on Bear in the Big Blue House way back in the day, then exploring game design, educational technology, publishing, you name it. I have always loved storytelling and wanted to work in different places where kids seek out narrative experiences.

In terms of how I found my way to audio, I was lucky enough to know Amy Kraft at Pinna through kids’ media circles. A few years ago, Amy came to me and asked me to create a podcast to teach kids the ABCs – in audio, which was an interesting challenge! That show turned into the podcast series Quentin and Alfie’s ABC Adventures, and eventually led to me becoming the Executive Producer at Pinna, where I oversaw different kinds of podcasts for a wide range of kids. So I’m really grateful to Amy and the team at Pinna for taking a chance on me and understanding that there’s a lot of creative overlap in other media formats and audio work. It’s always about the kid audience at the center and finding different ways for them to connect with stories and characters that are meaningful to them.

Annes Family

Family photo!

What do you love about podcasts and why do you think they’re a special form of media?
I think what makes audio special is how intimate it is. There’s nothing like hearing someone speaking in your headphones to feel like a story is being told just for you. Audio is a form of entertainment that asks the audience to meet it halfway – when you don’t know what characters look like or you can’t see an animated view of a setting, you become a co-creator of the narrative experience, using your imagination in a way that I think is really special. 

Why are children’s podcasts important right now?
I’ve worked in so many different roles over the course of my career because I’m excited about new formats and emerging media, and I think that’s where kids’ audio is right now. There’s a lot of room for new voices.

I also think that dealing with the pandemic, caregivers of young children were drawn to audio as something families could enjoy together, or that their kids could enjoy on their own without being glued to screens after long days of remote learning. That has contributed to audio becoming a medium with an interested, engaged audience that is still hungry for more great content. It’s served a really tangible role in the life of families these past few years and folks want more of it.

Anne’s dog Pip

What’s the future of children’s podcasting? Where is audio going next?
Right now, I’m interested in interactive audio and I think there is huge potential in voice recognition and truly responsive storytelling. This year, I created and produced three titles in the Pinna Original Yes No Audio Escape series through audiyo-yo. They’re audio escape rooms where the child actually speaks out loud to the podcast and gets different outcomes if they say “yes” or “no” to different questions. If you’re trying to escape a haunted house in five minutes, you have to choose whether to walk down that one hallway or stop and talk to a couple of ghosts who seem interested in you. It’s an innovative way to play with audio, and, given FableVision’s deep experience in interactive experiences, it feels like a perfect fit for audiyo-yo.

What are you excited to work on at audiyo-yo? How does audiyo-yo stand out from other audio production companies?
I’m excited to work on original projects we’re developing at FableVision, like Tone Thyne’s big sweeping musical series Cummerbund. And I’m equally excited to work with clients who are interested in making audio for kids but who might need expertise in how to bring characters and worlds to life in this medium. 

This role is also a huge opportunity for me to work with creators who may be new to audio, or to kids’ media in general, to broaden the range of voices we have in the space. For instance, we just made a show called Roasting Vegetables with Postell Pringle, who’s a theater and musical artist and all around huge talent, but who hasn’t made a kids’ podcast before (though his group, Q Brothers Collective, has made an awesome hip-hop album for kids, Buggin’ ). They also created the soundtrack for Long Way Home, a sweeping musical epic based on Homer's The Odyssey for the renowned United Voices Chicago – check them out! Pos and I created and wrote the show together and I’m excited about all of the things he brought to the project that I never would have come up with on my own, and vice versa.

In terms of what’s special about audiyo-yo – we bring a unique mix of production and creative expertise to the table. At FableVision, there’s an amazing braintrust of people who put kids at the center of their work. They’re innovators in terms of using different media to reach kids where they are and to help them grow. In the audio industry, what sets us apart is the breadth of experience we have with making stories for a kids’ audience across all different types of media. We combine that with a deep understanding of the nuts and bolts of what it takes to bring a podcast from concept to final broadcast-quality audio.

What advice would you give to people hoping to work in kids’ audio?
Immerse yourself in the medium and figure out what speaks to you. Do you love highly sound-designed stories or simpler audiobooks? Interesting new formats or classic ones? Short form appointment-type content or longer, serialized shows? Listen to as much as you can and follow your taste to seek out mentors and companies who are doing work you love. This is a welcoming field and it’s relatively easy to access experienced folks who are excited to bring in new talent, but people also want to know that you’ve done your homework and are interested in what they do specifically. The last thing I’d say is be curious about your audience – talk to kids about what’s interesting and exciting to them and allow that to inspire you. 

What’s an Anne fun fact that most people don’t know?
I think most people don’t know that I won a trophy in the Coney Island Mermaid Parade in the early 2000s. 

So… you love Brooklyn?
Man, do I love Brooklyn! I’ve lived in Brooklyn since the late 1990s. There’s just no place like it – the art and culture, the food, the brownstones, but mostly the opportunity to meet people from all over the world with totally different experiences, who all come together in this crazy, busy, loud, and magical place. I’m fortunate to also have family in more rural places as I do need to escape the bustle of the big city sometimes. I basically gravitate towards either the biggest, most raucous environment in the world or a farmhouse down some country road where there are no humans whatsoever.

More About Anne

Anne GLS

GLS Panel

Favorite podcast?
I have to take this opportunity to plug my sister Meg’s amazing parenting podcast, What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood. It's chock full of hilarious advice and every once in a while I get name-checked, so that’s exciting. For kids, there are so many shows that I love, but Grim, Grimmer, Grimmest, which I worked on at Pinna with Adam Gidwitz and Ilana Millner, is a sentimental favorite of mine and just a master class in storytelling.

Favorite game?
Gone Home is a video game I deeply love – it’s so nuanced and thoughtful about how it reveals its secrets. I’ve also been playing a cooperative card game called Hanabi recently with my family, which is really fun and super challenging!

Anne in Mexico

Favorite book?
I was an English major in college so it’s a long list! I go back to The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, The Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson, and Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill over and over again. I recently read Kiese Laymon’s Long Division and was insanely delighted by it – it plays with form in interesting ways, but the character voices are so strong and endearing that it still feels immediate and emotional.

Favorite place to travel?
I’m interested in good food and art, and some history to dig into, which was checked off by the special and vibrant Oaxaca, Mexico that I visited with family. Mostly, there are many more places that I want to go to – ask me again in a few years!

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Autumn Adventures: FableVision's 2022 Back-to-School Guide

Back to School

After a sunny and spectacular summer vacation, returning to school or starting school for the first time can be scary. Whether your family traveled, relaxed, spent time outdoors, or simply had a different schedule, it takes time to shift back to your school and fall routines. To help your children combat the “school scaries” and enjoy the fall, we’ve compiled a list of resources to ensure that they have a fantastic year full of educational and engaging learning. 

Dot Day Logo

International Dot Day

Empower kids to make their marks by celebrating International Dot Day on September 15-ish. Based on FableVision’s Co-Founder and New York Times bestselling author/illustrator Peter H. Reynolds’ book The Dot, International Dot Day encourages kids to connect and collaborate as they re-discover the power and potential of creativity in all they do. This year, join Peter at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City or watch the livestream of the event. September 15 doesn’t work for you? Here’s a little secret: you can celebrate Dot Day whenever you want! 

SkySci for Kids

UCAR’s SkySci for Kids

As we gradually add sweaters, scarves, and fuzzy hats to our wardrobe, check out UCAR’s SkySci for Kids to learn about weather, climate, and sky science. With humor, bright colors, and a clear breakdown of topics, FableVision-made animated videos and minigames featuring Yolanda the palm tree, Jeff the yeti, and Snacks the dog will teach kids about tornadoes, hurricanes, heat waves, and more. Visit the website to encourage your child to fight climate change.

Cyber Fashion Challenge

Cyber Fashion Challenge

Another great way to fight climate change – upcycling! Based on Cyberchase’s season 13 episode “Sustainable By Design,” born-accessible Cyber Fashion Challenge, created in partnership with FableVision, The WNET Group, PBS KIDS, and Bridge Multimedia, teaches 6-8-year-olds about avoiding fast fashion and encouraging the creative reuse of materials. Practice counting and shape identification by creating a sustainable fashion line for Fabio DeZine.

Museum of Science “EiE Families” Website

Spark your child’s interest in engineering and computer science by checking out the Museum of Science “EiE Families” microsite, built by FableVision, with interactive features to support STEM learning at-home and on-the-go. Play Bye Bye Bug and create a way to lead a ladybug to safety, or explore the other activities, in both English and Spanish. Bonus: if you’re in Boston, take a field trip to the Museum of Science to see science in action.

GPB Digital Textbook

“Our State and the Nation: A Georgia Studies Course”

History fanatics – we have a treat for you. FableVision created a host site for Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB)’s online textbook, developing an online experience for eighth-grade students. In the revamped George history course, students can examine images, define vocabulary words, watch videos, and go on virtual field trips from the classroom or the comfort of their homes. 

Pinna Yes No Audio Adventures

Pinna Original Yes No Audio Adventures

One of the best parts of fall? Halloween! Immerse yourself in spooky season by answering yes or no to questions in Escape the Haunted House, a Pinna Original Yes No Audio adventure, produced by FableVision’s audiyo-yo. Listeners are the main characters as they interact with the show and create their own story. If your kids aren’t fans of haunted houses, they can listen to Escape the Marshmallow Dream Forest or Escape the Sinking Ship. The 5-minute, voice-activated audio adventures provide a perfect, creative outlet during car rides, before bedtime, and more.

Boston v. Bullies

Boston vs. Bullies Academy for Internet Champions

Join Bobby the Badger and his friends Ivy, Jordan, and Felix to score a touchdown, make a basket, and hit a home run with The Sports Museum’s bullying-prevention game. As kids continue to use the internet at younger ages and run into in-person and online bullying, Boston vs. Bullies Academy for Internet Champions, created by FableVision, helps kids navigate tricky situations, make smart choices online, and combat bullying. Learn how to stay safe by checking out the free game.

That's Love -- Friendlets

“Friendlets” Animated Shorts

Besides stopping bullying, children should also see the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationships to avoid abuse, love better, and find true friends. Created in partnership with One Love Foundation, “Friendlets” animated shorts showcase familiar, humorous scenarios to help elementary-aged kids understand the importance of communication and appropriate responses in healthy friendships. Visit One Love’s Education Center for the shorts and associated resources.

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